Pregnancy may slow down MS progression

Pregnancy could slow down the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study has found.

Researchers studied 330 women who were assessed for around 18 years against the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), which is used to measure the progression of MS.

They found that 55 per cent of women reached EDSS six by the end of the study period, which meant they needed a cane or crutch to walk 100 metres.

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The researchers discovered that women who had children after being diagnosed with MS were 39 per cent less likely to have progressed to EDSS six than those who never had children.

Publishing their findings in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, the study authors suggested that hormones released during pregnancy may have a beneficial effect on the immune system.

However, the MS Society cautioned that there were drawbacks to the study, which did not take into account the fact that women with severe forms of MS often choose not to get pregnant.

Dr Susan Kohlhaas, the society's research communications officer, commented: 'It is difficult to form any meaningful conclusions from this research given the small size of the study and its flaws, but further studies will hopefully clarify the effects of pregnancy in women with MS.'

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